


Growing Saplings

by anstaar



Series: when the door opens [4]
Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-02
Updated: 2011-07-02
Packaged: 2017-10-20 22:43:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/217895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anstaar/pseuds/anstaar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aral and a Vorrutyer cousin climb a tree</p>
            </blockquote>





	Growing Saplings

Most of the time, Aral obeyed his brother's instructions. That was how it worked. The Emperor took the Counts' hands between his and promised to protect them from their enemies in the wider galaxy, and occasionally brother Counts, while in return the Counts promised their obedience. Then the Counts take their districts' hands and promised to protect them in return for their obedience to him and to the Emperor. Tolya was Lord Vorkosigan which meant he would become Count and therefor in their household, when their father-the-Count was away, he spoke with the Count's voice which Aral obeyed like he would the Voice of his Count or Emperor. Sometimes, Aral could almost see the lines that tied them together and then bound them all in the body of the Emperor. Plus, Tolya wanted what was best for him because he was his older brother, so most of the time Aral listened.   
  
Still, Tolya had forbidden him from going into the forest alone. He had also said that didn't like Aral to spend time with their cousins without him present. However, he had never said that Aral _couldn't_ go into the forest accompanied by his cousin. Especially if it was only the one his age who even Aral could beat in a fight. Even so, Aral couldn't help but feel slightly guilty, even if Ges had dared him. He could just see Tolya's glare when he found them out.    
  
Ges, on the other hand, appeared completely fearless. He stared around in fascination at the surrounding tress. "We don't have anything like this at home in the capital," he said. Aral nodded, feeling awkward. He didn't spend a lot of time with people not part of his direct family. He didn't really know what to say to his spirited cousin. Not that his silence seemed to affect Ges. "Could you climb this tree," he asked, pointing up at the towering tree in front of them.   
  
"Yes," Aral said, wincing internally at how stupid that sounded.  
  
"Good," Ges smirked in satisfaction, "then you can go first and then help me up."  
  
"It's a bit windy," more like it was incredibly windy. Aral had been climbing for years and he could recognize the creak of the wind through the trunk of the tree.    
  
"That's what will make it fun," Ges said with a flash of his cheeky grin and somehow Aral found himself clinging to a low hanging branch with his knees as he helped the other boy pull himself up onto the branch. Eventually, they both sat panting on the broad limb. Aral hoped that this would be enough but Ges shucks off his shoes, sending them spiraling down to the ground beneath the tree, and stood, one arm wrapped tightly around the trunk.  
  
"Where are you going?" Aral asked, hoping he sound unconcerned rather than worried.   
  
"Higher up, I want to see if I could catch a bird."   
  
"What would you do with a bird?"  
  
Ges shrugged, "bring it back for dinner, maybe."   
  
"There aren't any birds good for eating in the trees," Aral said, feeling uncomfortable, "we get some grouse, but only down in the bushes."   
  
Ges was still a moment and Aral wondered if he was upset at being corrected but then his cousin beamed. "Good to know. If Cetagandans attacked you could keep us safe with your wood knowledge." Aral couldn't hold back a small laugh at the idea of the two of them living off grouse and running from invaders.  
  
"I think my brother would be kind of upset if I was in the woods when the Cetagandans attacked."  
  
Ges laughed, too, and Aral felt a warmth rise inside of him. "I can imagine," he adopted a rather good imitation of Tolya's disapproving voice, "Vorrutyer, can you not keep control of your brother? This will disrupt the checklist."  
  
"Checklist," Aral responded, in a much less impressive imitation of Joz, "what checklist."  
  
Ges gestured sternly with his free hand, "the checklist of what to do during a Cetagandan invasion, of course. Making sure your younger siblings haven't run off is number five. Your sister better have a Vorfemme knife or we're going to have to _improvise,_ " Aral laughed again, slightly guiltily, at the tone of shocked horror and Ges continued in his normal voice, "by the time they'll have finished arguing about stuff we'll have already chased the Ghem off with rot bark." He swung his arm out grandly, "In times to come we shall come back to this tree and say, 'here, this is the mighty tree where we first came up with the plan to fight off the second invasion."   
  
He removed a knife from his pocket and dug it into the bark, "and then," he said, "I'll say, 'it's marked with an A so we could remember which tree we were talking about.' I would do a G, too, but those are hard to do one handed." He looked so annoyed that Aral felt himself start to giggle.  Ges smirked up at him and they say in that three, together, until the sun started to lower beyond the horizon.


End file.
